A New Beginning
by KyokoFujimiya
Summary: It's been 120 years after the firenation lost the war. The other nations have begun to spread out across the globe and re-claim old territories, and the air nomads are repopulating the earth. This story focuses on one particular water bender: Sapphire.
1. Sapphire

My first written fanfic!! Please review and give helpful criticizm!!

Disclaimer: I made up Sapphire and Izzy. Everyone else is owned by Mike and Bryan and Nickelodeon

"Grr! Why cant I get this right?!"

A young girl with brown hair and blueish-grey eyes was standing on a beach, completely soaked. The boy, who was making sure to stay out of the water's way, was laughing.

"Shut up, Izzy! This isnt easy, you know!"

The boy finally stopped laughing enough to talk and wiped the tears away from his eyes, "Sapphire, why dont you go back to class? The teacher sent me back here to fetch you. He says you still need to learn the basics if you want to become a master."

"What does that old fart know?! It's so boring learning the basics, and I can waterbend just fine without them!"

"Well, so far all you've been doing is splashing around and getting yourself soaked."

"I'm making a wave! That's what waves are supposed to do! I just gotta figure out how to control it better!"

The boy sighed. He knew it was no use arguing with her, since she was stubborn to the core. " Whatever. Listen, it's getting dark. Why dont we call it a night?"

"Right after I try one more time."

Sapphire stood on the edge of the beach and concentrated on the ocean for a while. After the firenation's defeat in the great war, some of the water tribe people migrated to tropical islands abandoned by the firenation. The warmer weather was a welcome invitation compared to the constant freezing winter that comes with living in the north and south poles. Sapphire and Izzy were decendents of the waterbenders who chose to move to warmer climates. The island their tribe lived on was small with a dormant volcano in its center.

Sapphire raised her hands slowly, trying to raise the water enough to create a wave, but not so fast this time or she'll just get soaked again. The water started to rise and rise and finally there was a large wave. Izzy's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"I did it!!" She shouted while jumping in excitement.

The excitement was short lived. When she stopped concentrating, the wave began to twist and turn, and then focused itself on the kids. Izzy shouted "RUN!!" and the two tried to get away, but it was too late. The wave crashed down on both of them. Leaving them soaked and coughing on the beach.

"What on earth are you two doing?!"

The kids froze. The Elder was the oldest woman in the tribe. She had been around since the great war with the firenation, and had even fought in the war. The tribe's respect for her weren't just because of her age and wisdom, but also because she has the same fierceness and energy she had in her prime, despite the fact she was well over 100. No one questioned her judgement. That's not to say she wasn't fun to hang around with. The children would visit her for stories and everyone on the island loved coming over to her house for parties and chatting. She would even sparr with the men from time to time. Most of the time, she'd win.

"It's well past sundown! You should be home in bed instead of standing around here splashing around! Sapphire, your parents have been looking for you everywhere. I heard you skipped class again."

Sapphire pouted and looked away. "I dont like that class. The teacher keeps making us learn the basics over and over and over again, and I'm tired of it. I want to learn harder techniques!"

The Elder gave a little chuckle. "Is that so? You really are just like your great-grandmother... too stubborn and impatient." She sat down next to the girl and set her gaze out to the horizon. Sapphire looked at the elder's face. "Water is also a stubborn element. If you dont know how to work with it, it wont show any mercy. It's been known to sink the strongest ships and destroy the most powerful men. And here you are trying to control it. Water doesn't like to be controlled, so it's pushing back at you. That's why the basics are important. They teach you how to move with the water and letting it be used the way you want it, instead of trying to use it however you want it and getting a bunch of water in your face."

The Elder stood up and shook the sand from her clothes. "Well, it's time for you two to head home. Sapphire, tell your parents I said hi, okay?"

Izzy and Sapphire followed after her. Sapphire turned to look at the ocean one last time, when she saw what appeared to me a man lying on the beach. Sapphire rubbed her eyes and looked again, but he was gone. Izzy called out to her, and she ran to catch up with him, assuming that what she saw was her imagination.


	2. The Cycle Continues

The next day at sunset, Sapphire was sitting on the beach, staring out into the horizon. She decided to give the teacher's lessons a serious go, but she was having trouble with the simplest moves. Izzy had told everyone how she made that huge wave last night, and when no one believed her, she decided to show them. As a result, everyone was soaked and the teacher kicked her out of class. She didnt want to go home, so she decided to head to the beach. The beach was like her sanctuary; with her toes beneath the sand and the sound of the waves coming in and out, she felt the most at peace. Unfortunately, even the soothing sounds of the waves couldn't calm her frustrations today.

"GRR!! Why cant I get this stupid move right?! I've been practicing for a month and I still can't make a decent wave!"

"Sounds like you're having trouble understanding the basics."

Sapphire jumped at the unfamiliar voice. She turned around to see a man in what appeared to be his late 20's or early 30's. He was in air nomad clothes, but was different from most of the air nomad stories she had heard in the past. Most of the air monks were bald, while this man had hair, and this island was one far away from any other land mass, way too far for an air nomad to fly on his own, and she hadn't heard of any supply boat stopping by the island recently. Just who was this man?

"Waves are easy to make. You just need to figure out how to properly push and pull the water. If you practice the basics, it should be easy!" He said with a playful smile.

Sapphire frowned in frustration. What was an air nomad doing telling her how to waterbend. "If it's so easy, why dont you do it?"

His smile faded a little and he scratched the back of his head. "Unfortunately, I can't waterbend myself. I'm an air nomad you see", he says as he points to the arrow on his forehead, "But a close friend of mine was a waterbender. She explained some of the simple techniques to me."

"Yeah, well, i'm tired of the basics. I want to do the bigger tricks, but the teacher wont let me learn them, so I'm practicing them on my own. My family has some old scrolls, and I saw one that taught me how to make a giant wave. I thought it would be easy, but I keep getting soaked in the end."

The nomad laughed. "Waves are tricky. If you cant push and pull the water, they're impossible to do. I bet you can't do a simple push and pull of the water, can you?"

His smiley attitude as he doubted her abilities pissed her off. "Of course I can! Let me show you!"

Sapphire positioned herself and did the push and pull motions she learned from class, trying to get the water to bend to her will, but nothing happened. Frustrated, she tried harder, and got a bunch of water in the face. The nomad laughed.

Sapphire plopped down on the ground. She was wet and embarrased. She wanted to cry. "Shut up! This stupid water doesn't ever work when I want it to!"

The nomad stopped laughing. "I think that's your problem, you're trying to force it, instead of working with it."

Sapphire looked up at him. The elder had said something similar yesterday. "I dont know that that means. If I'm water bending, I'm controlling the water, not working with it..."

The nomad shook his head. "Water likes to flow in a certain way. If you try to go against that flow, you're going to get water in your face." He looked up at the horizon. "I'm sure you've heard about the moon and how it was the first water bender. The moon spirit and the ocean spirit are good friends. They push and pull together, balancing each other out and working together. That's how waterbending works. Why dont you close your eyes and listen to the ocean, and try to push and pull with the rhythm you hear?"

She didnt really trust the nomad, but she thought that it wouldnt hurt to try. When she closed her eyes and listened, she noticed that the waves actually did go to a rhythm. She opened her eyes and tried to do the same technique she learned to that rhythm, and to her surprised the water started pushing and pulling.

"I DID IT!! LOOK MISTER NOMAD IT'S WORKING!"

But when she looked up, the nomad was gone.

The next day, everyone was surprised how she mastered all the basic techniques, even the teacher complimented her. She went down to the beach, hoping to find the nomad so she can tell him how his lesson really worked. When she didnt find him there, she decided to practice the wave technique again. Now that she learned to work with the push and pull of the water, she wasn't getting any more water in her face, but she still had trouble making a big wave. At her best, her waves were three to four feet tops.

"Wow you're getting good. Most waterbenders take months to master waves."

Sapphire jumped and turned around. The air nomad's face was about three inches away from hers. She jumped back.

"But you should take a break from this, or it'll tire you out. Have you ever tried freezing the water?"

Sapphire looked confused. "Why would i need to do that?"

The nomad smiled. "Well, you wouldnt have to worry about running out of ice for your drink. And splashing cold water in your friend's face is a fun prank. Besides, you never know when the ablitity to freeze water would be useful."

"I doubt there would ever be a time when that's useful... but okay, i'll try it. "

The nomad was happy with her cooperation. He explained how his waterbending friend would bend the water into ice, and after spending an hour practicing, she was finally able to freeze the water. She then heard someone calling out to her, and turned to see Izzy running and waving.

"Hey Sapphire! It's past dark, and I'm supposed to take you home!"

"Oh hey Izzy! I want you to meet my new friend--" She turned to point out the air nomad, just to see he had dissapeared once again.

Izzy looked around confused. "what friend? The ocean? I've met the ocean. You introduced us yesterday by splashing me with it... we should head home now, the moon is rising."

The next day, Sapphire walked along the beach, looking for the air nomad. School was canceled today for the winter solstice, and there was going to be a celebration tonight to honor the holiday, since the winter solstice was when the spirit world and the real world connected, and no one wanted to anger the spirits. Sapphire wanted to try and find her friend so he could teach her a new trick before the party tonight, she was going to be one of the main dancers during the celebration and couldnt come by the beach that night, but she couldnt find him anywhere.

That night, she was in her house trying to get the ceremonial gown on, when her parents burst into the room and told her to come with them immediately. When they left the house, she saw ashes floating in the air and turned around to see the volcano smoking and lava beginning to pour out. The island was too far from any other land mass to get safely away, and all the boats had been put away for the ceremony and wouldnt be ready in time to save everyone. Sapphire was scared. She noticed some of the older water benders trying to bend the water on the volcano and try to freeze the lava. The Elder was using her earth bending abilities to make a ditch around the population in an attempt to slow down the lava flow. She wanted to help, but her waves were so small...

"Why dont you try to make a wave?"

The nomad was right next to her, looking up at the volcano. She had to admit, his presence was a great comfort.

"But... I cant make a wave big enough to help..."

The nomad smiled and looked at her. "You're better than you think. It's in your blood. I bet if you reached down deep inside you, you could do it.

Sapphire decided to believe him. She turned to the ocean and tried pushing and pulling the water. Each push and pull were getting bigger and bigger. The lava was coming down the mountain and destroying some of the houses now. Everyone was waiting for the worst, and Sapphire was scared. The moon was beginning to rise, and she closed her eyes and begged the moon or anyone to help her, cuz she couldnt do it alone...

And then something amazing happened. Sapphire's mind went cloudy and clear at the same time. She had a feeling like she was herself, and yet not. She was suddenly able to make a giant wave, and somehow she knew how to guide the water in the wave to the lava in the volcano, She then used the technique the nomad taught her and froze all the lava, turning it into rock. Most of the houses were ruined by the lava and sudden water attack, but everyone was alive.

Sapphire came back to her sences afterwards but felt a little weak. Her parents were there to support her almost immediately. Izzy then rand up to her.

"That was amazing! How did you do that awesome waterbending?"

Sapphire thought for a second, "I dont really know... I Just did it..."

"Oh... well, can you tell me how you made your eyes and mouth glow?"

"Glow...?"

"Yeah! Your eyes and mouth started glowing, and then you did that awesome waterbending!"

Her mother interrupted them. "I think that's something you will both learn about in due time... for now, let's just leave it alone..."

Sapphire looked at the crowd of people cheering and noticed the air nomad in the crowd. He smiled and waved, and she smiled back. She didn't know what just happened, but somehow she knew this was the first step to something bigger, and she knew she'd be meeting that air nomad again. But for now, she was tired and wanted to go to bed.

The air nomad saw the girl leaving,and was about to depart himself when he heard a voice he hadn't heard in a long time.

"So, Twinkletoes, what are the odds that the next avatar happens to be a decendent of the previous one?"

It was the air nomad's turn to jump. He hadn't expected anyone to know he was there. Least of all this person. But, this wasnt the first time she surprised him. He laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"Actually, this doesnt happen as often as you'd think... this is like the second or third time tops... How'd you know I was here?"

"I'd recognize your steps any time, twinkle toes... " She gave a slightly sad smile, "and maybe the time when I'll join you guys in the spirit world is coming soon... "

Aang looked at his old friend, and then he looked to the horizon and smiled. "Katara says hi, and she told me to tell you that she doesn't want anyone else to teach her great-granddaughter earth bending. And frankly, I dont think there would be a better teacher myself. Not many earthbenders know how to METALBEND after all..."

Toph laughed that cocky laugh she was infamous for when she was younger. "You're right. When it comes to earth bending teachers, i'm the best there is. I wont go easy on her either, you know. "

Aang laughed. "I wouldnt expect it any other way. So I guess we'll just have to wait for you to join us for a few more years."

"Yup, I guess so."

"Elder, who are you talking to?"

Toph turned her head towards Izzy, who was looking up at her, confused. Aang had dissapeared. "No one, just thinking about some old friends... Now, let's go help the others with repairs."

Some notes: If Aang and Katara don't get together at the end of this show, I will be SO embarrased for writing this fic. ;

In case some people are confused, Aang IS dead in this fic. Because Sapphire is the female waterbender who succeeds Aang, she'll have a deep connection to him, much like he had with Roku. The fact that this story takes place on the Winter Solstice doesn't hurt his traveling from the spirit world either. ;D

I dont know why I named the boy Izzy... I thought it was a silly name and I imagined him as a silly character (not unlike Sokka) Sapphire is a reference to the episode The Headband in season 3.


End file.
